This and That

From Common Dreams is an editorial by Bill Moyers entitled Saving Democracy, which I think is a must read.

Our witness for this is the Christian pastor who served as the titular president of the U.S. Family Network, the Reverend Christopher Geeslin. He told The Washington Post that the founder of the organization, the former DeLay aide, told him that a million dollars was passed through from sources in Russia who wanted DeLay’s support for legislation enabling the International Monetary fund to bail out the faltering Russian economy without demanding the country raise taxes on its energy industry. As Molly Ivins pointed out in a recent column, right on cue DeLay found his way onto Fox News Sunday to argue the Russian position. That same titular head of the U.S. Family Network, the Christian pastor, said DeLay’s former chief of staff also told him, “This is the way things work in Washington.”

The essay is quite long, but it's worth reading.

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WorldNetDaily:

Democrat for Senate: Kill practicing 'gays'; Candidate says incumbent Republican not advocating biblical values enough.

"Just like we have laws against murder, we have laws against stealing, we have laws against taking drugs – we should have laws against immoral conduct," Keiser told WTOL-TV in Toledo.

Keiser, 61, says he's running as a Democrat because that's how he was registered the last time he voted.

The trucker, who hails from Fremont, Ohio, says there needs to be more adherence to biblical values in government, business and education – something he claims DeWine is not promoting.

"I believe that the United States has been moved in a Godless direction by the courts," he told the Sandusky Register. "To get good men on the court, we need good senators."

Some of Keiser's other positions include defense of the Second Amendment, securing U.S. borders, lower taxes to stimulate the economy, support of Israel and prayer in public schools.

Keiser told the Register the United States should make conversion to Christianity part of the war on terror to teach Muslims the error of their choice in religion.

The candidate also decries evolution, saying it is contrary to the Declaration of Independence.

"The teaching of evolution works against the liberties we have in the United States," he told the paper. If a person believe in evolution, he or she "has no rights," he's quoted saying.

He also opposes the United Nations, abortion on demand and thinks so-called global warming is a false concern.

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An Imam in America: A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 Worlds

"America transformed me from a person of rigidity to flexibility," said Mr. Shata, speaking through an Arabic translator. "I went from a country where a sheik would speak and the people listened to one where the sheik talks and the people talk back."

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Open Source Theology

Wiki's take on the Emergent Church

Religion and Ethics - Part I

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Faith isn't about hatred, or separating oneself from others. Faith is acceptance and tolerance; it's joy, not fear; it's the heart, not the mind; it's belief not dogma.

That's my opinion. Everyone has their own. I don't ask anyone to believe what I believe, but I ask that they live by the rules of the community we all share - all the rules, not just the one's they prefer. Those rules are crafted, created, by the majority, not a small group of individuals who shout louder or longer or have more money than the rest do, to force their beliefs on others.